Hi,
I need your help, because I am facing a big decision. I started an MPhil/PhD in January 2004. I had a lot of problems since then with my supervisor. I was not the only student in my dep. complaining about that. Despite these complaints I just got a second supervisor that is not in my field and that despite being a very nice person said to me clearly that he can’t help me.

The department turns a blind eye on the situation because of internal relations, my supervisor brought in lots of money with grants, and the Uni apart from some vague request of intervention to my Dep. to solve the problem doesn’t want to take action. The funding does not belong to the Uni. but it comes from a grant that my supervisor got and the Uni office told me that they can’t do too much in this case.

2. I stupidly stuck with all of this without quitting at the end of my probatory period and now I should write a transfer report, task that could be easy but it is made difficult by my Supervisor, continuously criticizing me and delaying my work without providing support or proposing the right approach. I didn’t so far collect any data because of this delay.

Now I want to add that I come from abroad where I would like to go back at the end of this period but there in my country they do not value PhDs in fact they think that they are overqualified and lacking job experience, furthermore universities in my country are overcrowded and getting a job in uni.es is nearly impossible.

3. I am thinking to say to my supervisor and my Dep that I don’t want to transfer and that I would like to get an MPhil, this may be could make him a bit more easy with me, an MPhil requires a lower standard, and I could get earlier to my home country. However, my fear is that like other times in the past my supervisor will get angry and that he’ll try to make me pay this move or to cut me the funding.

Well in that case I could simply fly back from where I come from, but I would have wasted more than one year. (on the top of this I am depressed and I am finding a hard to cope with the amount of work that I am requested). Please give me some advice!